AKWESASNE — Youngster Ava Thompson was having a pretty good Sunday morning, at the 2018 Akwesasne Winter Carnival.

“I won the Life-size Trouble (game) and I did the Turkey Bowl three times,’’ said Thompson, just outside St. Regis Mohawk School in Hogansburg, N.Y., and just before it was time to head inside to warm up, enjoy some activities out of the cold and perhaps have a mid-day snack.

It was the 27th annual edition of the carnival, a four-day event that got started on Thursday and wrapped up on Sunday.

“We have a good mix of indoor and outdoor activities,’’ said Missy Conners, a member of the Akwesasne Winter Carnival Committee that organized activities that included singing contests, cooking events, outdoor games, craft activities and bingo.

“It’s gone well, we’ve had really good turnout.’’

One of those activities inside the school was a popcorn birdfeeders craft, offered by Divalissa Popcorn owner Melissa Conners, who runs the store in the St. Lawrence Centre.

Conners, who laughed when calling herself a “popcornologist,’’ said she saved seven gallons of popcorn seed over the last five months, specifically for the craft. Kids made bagels, adding peanut butter and popcorn, then took them home, to hang on the trees.

“We’re feeding the birds of Akwesasne,’’ Conners said.

The carnival was presented by the Kawehnoke Recreation Committee and the Akwesasne Coalition for Community Empowerment, marking the first time the event has been co-hosted.

Jennifer Boots, committee member with the Kawehnoke group, and Akwesasne coalition committee member Megan Bushey said the event was for everyone from children to elders, and that there was a wide variety of activities at numerous venues.

The carnival kicked off on Thursday afternoon with numerous activities, including at the Iakhihsohtha Lodge, where there was chili/biscuit contest judging, a King and Queen crowning and snowflake bingo.

Highlights on Friday included a teen dance at the Akwesasne Boys & Girls Club, and weekend activities included everything from a winter gauntlet obstacle course on Saturday morning at Generations Park to a meat pie/apple pie/cake decorating event on Sunday afternoon at the St. Regis Mohawk School cafeteria.
That mix of events for kids and elders is the recipe for a successful event, according to Missy Conners.

“We try to have (activities) for youth and elders, it’s (an entire) family event — and always drug and alcohol-free,’’ she said.

While there were activities in several parts of Akwesasne, there is a central location each year, and this time around it was in Hogansburg. Conners noted that next year’s carnival will have its main location in St. Regis.

The winter carnival committee thanked the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe for their generous donations.

The committee also had kudos for MCA Economic Development for printing the brochures as part of its Buy Local Campaign.

And, Bushey and Boots added that the winter carnival was a success in large part because of the support from businesses, sponsors and volunteers.